Abstract

Background

In addition to lowering LDL-C, emerging data suggests that phytosterols (PS) may reduce
blood triglycerides (TG), however, the underlying mechanisms are not known.

Methods

We examined the TG-lowering mechanisms of dietary PS in Syrian golden hamsters randomly
assigned to a high fat (HF) diet or the HF diet supplemented with PS (2%) for 6 weeks
(n = 12/group). An additional subset of animals (n = 12) was provided the HF diet
supplemented with ezetimibe (EZ, 0.002%) as a positive control as it is a cholesterol-lowering
agent with known TG-lowering properties.